CORE MESSAGE

The American people won't get a fair shot until we have government by and for all of us -- not bought and paid for by corporations.

Connect: It's no wonder Americans are losing faith in our political system.

Define the decision: Citizens United lets big corporations spend unlimited amounts of money -- in secret and without accountability -- so politicians answer to them instead of voters.

Discredit: We've lost our way when corporations are people, money is free speech, and politicians are for sale to the highest bidder.

Illustrate: We've already seen the outcome: big corporations get massive taxpayer handouts, gut safety regulations, and take away the rights of workers -- while sticking American families with the bill.

Bottom line: The American people won't catch a break until we have a government by and for all of us -- not bought and paid for by Wall Street, Big Oil, and corporate lobbyists.

Corporations are not people. No one should have to explain this. Corporations do not vote, they do not fight and die for our nation, and they do not have consciences or beliefs.

It's bad enough that they spend millions on lobbyists to influence politicians. Corporations should not be able to control our elections, too.

The founders of our country certainly did not consider corporations to be people. Corporations aren't even mentioned anywhere in the Constitution. America was founded as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Actually, there's really no comparison -- unions disclose more about their finances and follow stricter transparency rules than the shadowy front groups for corporations.

Let's be clear on the difference: unions are made up of working people looking out for working people. When corporations raking in billions in profits can spend unlimited amounts buying our elections, unions don't stand a chance.

In fact, when it comes to "soft money" political spending, labor is getting outspent by corporations by almost 20 times more.

There was a reason our country restricted corporations from using their money to meddle in politics for more than a century: to prevent corruption and protect our free and fair elections. But Citizens United undid all that.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Citizens Unitedeliminated the restrictions on corporations from directly spending unlimited amounts in our elections -- and now they get to do it in secret and without any accountability to the public.

The Citizens United ruling is responsible for the rise of "super PACs," which can receive unlimited contributions and make unlimited campaign expenditures for or against a candidate.

A new poll shows over 60% of Americans oppose the Citizens United decision, and 80% agree there is too much big money spent on political campaigns and elections today.

The impactof the Citizens United ruling was immediate and dramatic. In 2010, the first election cycle since the decision --

Outside groups backed by corporations spent $300 million on political ads and campaigns - that's more than double the amount of outside spending from in 2008 before the decision -- and half of it came from undisclosed sources.

In 60 of the 75 congressional races in which power changed hands, the unaccountable outside groups backed the winners, spending freely and overwhelmingly on negative ads.

Political campaign ad spending hit a record $2.3 billion, which is expected to be shattered in the 2012 election cycle.

Outside political spending has favored Republican politicians by two and a half times over the past three years.